After four weeks staying with my BFF, the builders are done and we're finally back home. It was not a chore on the end to be away. I got into a good routine and except for the hassle of moving and not having all my stuff, it was realy nice. I ate different food, had a computer desk and a conservatory to hang out in. It was a really good chance to clean the house moving things out and now moving back in having another filter. It'll be a slow week getting stuff back to where it belongs, for now the essentials are done. Tired old me can't wait for a rest, i should really take a holiday.
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I love my kindle. I have about 5 books on the go at the moment. When the latest Dance of Dragons by George RR Martin announced its release date, I pre-ordered a copy from Amazon. Then I totally forgot about it till it showed up on my Kindle on the day of release. Awesome.

It's not all light and sunshine though. I've been systematically trying to replace my paper back copies with digital copies and free up space on my overflowing bookcases, but it hasn't always been easy, especially if the author isn't so popular. I thought the issue was that maybe it wasn't in digital format, but this isn't necessarily the case. In fact more often than not, the digital version is only available in the US and I'm not allowed to buy it. I find it unfathomable that in this day and age of digital communication that frees us from the restrictions of location, that I'm not allowed to buy something digital available to other people because I'm in the wrong location. Especially given the fact that I could just order the US hard copy and have it shipped over.

Worse, its not just old releases. When I wanted to buy Towers of Midnight, the digital version for the pacific did not get released till 2 months afterwards. Nevermind that by then, I'd already found myself a pirated version and read that. Now I'll wait till it drops down to a much cheaper price before spending my money on it, but on release day I was willing to pay a lot more. Their loss. Literally.

And no, its not just ebooks. Apps too. I go to a website and they're telling me to download their free iPad app. And no..I can't. I can't subscribe to your goods that you make available through your app (manga sales btw). Stop tempting me and leave me to my pirating and overflowing bookshelves.

I don't see why customers have to be punished because distributors want to have complicated legal wranglings over the rights for distribution in each and every country and then the rights holders complain about the pirating that goes on. Sorry, but I just can't be bothered waiting for that crap, if you're going to advertise it to me, you'd better be prepared to actually be able to sell it to me.

Even if you're not directly advertising it to me, you must realise that we're a global community, we talk about TVs, books and movies now and together. There are no borders except language and sometimes we get around those too. The world is our watercooler. I can't wait 6 months to talk about this episode or chapter, because by that time, no one else in the community cares. So yes, expect me to pirate so that I can keep up and keep my interest and enthusiasm alive. This is how I operate. Give me the goods when everyone else gets theirs and at a fair and reasonable price. Yes, I'm a demanding consumer, but isn't that the way of the capitalism that you praise so much?

No. 32hr plane trips are bad enough I can't imagine how long it would take to get to the moon...can someone enlighten me? There's no one to visit up there, and the view would be fun for all of 5 minutes, aside from that, all you would have is bragging rights...and thats not me. And considering how much trouble I get when I go on a trip to europe, I could only imagine what might happen and get me stuck on the moon...all this and I consider myself an optimistic person!

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Before the first earthquake kit, we had food, water, batteries etc, all the essentials. We discovered most of the food was out of date since it was made 6 years ago and a lot of the items got scattered around the house. After the earthquake we bought a few more essentials, but it took another earthquake before we decided to go all out - hey, Murphy's law is if you get all completely prepared, you'll never need it. ;)

Plus, after walking home in heels, I decided I'm definitely going to pack an overnight bag and keep it in my car...and hope it never gets crushed by a fallen building.

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The stories are pouring in of people's traumatic experiences during the earthquake. I have been glued to the TV and news watching everything unfold, hoping, like everyone else, they will find more survivors. Feeling sick at the number of still missing people and fearing that their number will contribute to the already confirmed number of dead. It horrible to think of the bodies buried in those crushed cars and under the bricks and the unexpectedness of it all after what was such a normal day. Worse knowing that we've already had a huge earthquake only 6 months before and we escape so unscathed. I know that if I do not know someone who has been killed, I will most certainly know someone who does, as this is such a small city and we always have lovingly joked that it is only 2 degrees of separation among people.

In spite of the fact that my best friend and I were in the central city when the quake struck, we had no idea about the extent of what had happened. Sitting in a small converted cafe, I dove under the table with our other work companion, having these absurd thoughts about being unable to eat any lunch and the fact that the orange juice I'd just opened spilled over my back. We evacuated out the front, the back way being filled with debris. People milled around the carpark, busy on phones trying to check with loved ones while dust filled the air. In spite of seeing the dust up the road, I no idea of the destruction that had occurred a kilometre down the road. The traffic jammed within 5 minutes of the quake and we decided we'd have to walk home. We took some smaller streets and came across a lot of damage, a lot of fallen facades of building. Looking back now, I can't help but wonder how many injured or trapped people we walked by without even realising and wondering if there wasn't something we could have done if we'd been more alert. And yet the rationale side is aware that the procedure for civilians is to evacuate to prevent more people getting in danger.

And yet today it looks so normal. I am lucky to live on a side of the city that suffered minimal damage, as it did the last time, thanks to the ground type and the distance from the epicentre of the earthquake. I look out the windows and don't see any signs of the earthquake 2 days ago. We have power, we have water, we are not permitted to flush our toilets and we have to boil all our water for 3 minutes, but still, the rubbish is being collected like all is normal. However the aftershocks continue to come, less frequently thankfully, and remind me this is not the case.

I grieve at the number of people who we will lose. I grieve for the people driven away by this and the struggles half the city is trying to manage through. I grieve for the massive destruction of our central city and wonder how our little city will survive it, though our prime minister has promised the country's support. He offered pretty words of rhetoric yesterday, repeated numerous times over the news. But from a practical standpoint, knowing that barely 6 months from the last earthquake, repairs were still taking place, that new construction hadn't begun, it doesn't seem likely that much can be completed to help our small businesses survive.

I wish they wouldn't tell us when they try an operation to save someone. Hope and disappointment goes hand and hand here. So many times have they said they've found someone alive and try to get to them, only to say its a false report or they couldn't find anyone. I wish they would only tell us next time, when they do find someone alive and then I don't have to lose that jubilation.

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We watched two movies tonight. The first was Get me to the Greek. I was kinda surprised as it was connected to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so it was a pleasant surprise. A lot of laugh out loud moments in this movie and I managed to miss all the really crude moments. Much of it is the standard Judd Apatow fare, but I'm not yet sick of it, so I'll take some more. Jonah Hill is pretty good entertainment. 7.5/10

The other was Diary of a Wimpy Kid, decided to watch it after Dan had mentioned how popular the books were and how the kids are lining up to read them. The main character isn't very sympathetic and overall there are a lot of cringe worthy situations. However much of the reactions and behaviours are understandable since they are so young. Still its hard to take children being that selfish and single minded. I'm really really glad I'm not that young and nor was I ever that stupid. I loved the end when the news girl points out to the bitch girl that by highschool none of what they are doing will matter. That is wisdom beyond the ages. LMAO. 6/10

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I was listening to "Don't let me down" from the Across the universe soundtrack when it reminded me of an old story that I read in highschool and while for the life of me, I cannot remember the particulars, a young adult romance/drama - the part that came to mind was the fact that I shipped the lead girl with the non canon guy, the guy's bestfriend, even though it was completely obvious, she would end up with the guy I viewed as an asshole.

I wonder where this tendency to prefer non canon couples came from?

As I chose my icon, it also made me think, I preferred Jem/Riot, then again I did like Jem/Rio, Jerrica was boring, ok, this is probably where my harem tendencies came from. I like to think that she probably could have gotten away with both. XD (By the last episode she hadn't exactly discouraged Riot), I didn't like Kimber much and used to want her boys to like Jem too.

Heehee, shipping is fun when you don't have everyone disagreeing and arguing with you about the possibilities of said ship. Although...I think its harder when you're sure your ship is the one and others disagree, at least with my absurd and unlikely ships, I never had much hope (only a tiny wee flicker).

I now have a desire to flick through all my really old ships. I may not be crazed about them (I probably never was), but at least I'm sure I still like them all.

Which anime character would you marry if you could?: Ensei (SaiMono)Cutest anime character: Umi (Purelove Labyrinth)Most annoying anime character: RyuukiBest anime couple: Shuurei/EnseiLeading characters or supporting?: LeadingMale or Female protagonist: Mostly male.Yandere or Tsundere?: TsundereLarge cast or small cast?: Large

Anime & Manga Merchandise

Amount of Anime DVD's you own: NoneAmount of Manga Volumes you own: ~50Do you have any anime models/figures?: NoDo you have any anime key chains?: Eek, noDo you own anime video games?: NoAny cosplay costumes?: NoHow long do you spend in an anime store?: Last time I was in one, about 2 hours, but here we have none, so I was indulging.Are you willing to spend over $500 for a series you love?: Only one I'm willing to make love to.